Virginia Highway Crash Involves Bus and Multiple Vehicles, Leading to Five Fatalities

On Friday morning, a tragic incident occurred on a Virginia highway resulting in the deaths of at least five individuals and injuring nearly four dozen more. The incident involved a bus crashing into several vehicles on Interstate 95. Virginia State Police have charged the bus driver, Jing S. Dong, aged 48 from Staten Island, New York, with involuntary manslaughter.

According to the authorities, at approximately 2:35 a.m. Eastern Time, the bus failed to decelerate for traffic and collided with six vehicles in Stafford County. The bus initially hit a Chevrolet Suburban, which in turn struck an Acura SUV and other vehicles. The collision led to the deaths of four individuals in the Acura and one in the Suburban.

The deceased from the Acura, which caught fire after the crash, were identified as a family from Greenfield, Massachusetts. The victims included Dmitri Doncev, his wife Ecterina, and their children, Emily and Mark. They were traveling to a wedding in South Carolina. The individual in the Suburban was identified as Priscilla Mafalda, 25, from Worcester, Massachusetts.

State police reported that 44 others were taken to nearby hospitals, with three suffering from critical injuries. At the time of the incident, 34 people were aboard the bus. The bus, operated by E&P Travel from Kings Mountain, North Carolina, was on a route from New York to North Carolina.

An initial investigation indicated that the traffic in the southbound lane was slowing as vehicles approached a work zone. The bus did not slow down, leading to the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is conducting a separate investigation. Tom Chapman, a NTSB member, noted that while it appears there was limited braking, it is still too early to determine the complete sequence of events on board the bus.

The NTSB plans to release a preliminary report within 30 days. Their investigation will include a review of the bus driver’s activities in the 72 hours preceding the crash, covering potential issues such as sleep, distractions, and substance use.